Rotorua -- Center of Geothermal Fun

Kuirau Park

Attraction | "Bubbling mud and volcano-heated water for free"

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If you want to check out some of Rotorua's famous geothermal activity, but are on too tight of a budget to spring for one of the spas or Maori centers like Te Puia, then the Kuirau city park is one excellent spot to wander along some great examples. There are many small pools fed by hot springs scattered throughout the pleasant park. The steam rising off the hot water leads you from one pond to the next. There are also quite a few places where you can marvel at stinky gas bubbles gurgling up through the mud of a hot spot. You will definitely smell the sulphrous odor of the volcanic origins of the heat. Actually, you'll live with that smell throughout the city.Besides the geothermal act...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on February 2, 2025

Kuirau Park
Ranolf Street and Lake Road
Rotorua, North Island
64 7 348 4199

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Agrodome - Zorb Rotorua (Zorbing)

Attraction | "Spherical Fun!"

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We first saw Zorbing when it was featured as an activity on our favorite television show, The Amazing Race, a few years ago. So when we found out our New Zealand trip would take us to the home of Zorbing, we were really psyched up. Zorbing is a light-adventure activity where you get sealed inside a giant transparent beachball and roll down a big hill while inside.At the Zorb center just outside of Rotorua, they offer a dry or a wet ride. In dry Zorbing, you're strapped in on the inside of the ball and thus you'll tumble head over heels as the ball rolls down the hill. For wet Zorbing, you're sealed in with a bit of water for lubrication and you just sort of slide around the inside as y...Read More

We first saw Zorbing when it was featured as an activity on our favorite television show, The Amazing Race, a few years ago. So when we found out our New Zealand trip would take us to the home of Zorbing, we were really psyched up. Zorbing is a light-adventure activity where you get sealed inside a giant transparent beachball and roll down a big hill while inside.

At the Zorb center just outside of Rotorua, they offer a dry or a wet ride. In dry Zorbing, you're strapped in on the inside of the ball and thus you'll tumble head over heels as the ball rolls down the hill. For wet Zorbing, you're sealed in with a bit of water for lubrication and you just sort of slide around the inside as you go, never really turning your body upside down. We opted for the wet Zorbing experience.

After changing into swim gear and signing waivers saying that we recognized the Zorb company isn't responsible for our stupidity, they're nice enough to give you a lift up the steep hill in a truck. At the summit, they add some water into the Zorb ball to make the interior nice and slippery, and thankfully, they do use warm water when it is a cold day. You squeeze into the ball through the little loading chute, and the attendant zips you in. After a couple steps of a push to get started, you're off and rolling and the good times begin.

My take on the experience: Just pure fun. I literally laughed the whole way down the hill as I was sloshing around inside my Zorb sphere. The course down has several zig-zags in it, and you bounce around a bit as you make each turn. Even though the Zorb is sort of transparent, you really can't see where you're going and you don't know when the next turn is going to be and that is part of the fun. Eventually you come to rest at the bottom of the hill, and you emerge out of the access chute with a big smile on your face. Your handlers are there with a camera to take a nice photo of you that you can purchase back at the registration desk if you want.

Zorbing wasn't terribly scary or dangerous or adrenaline pumping, but I really had a great time.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on February 2, 2025

Agrodome - Zorb Rotorua (Zorbing)
Western Road, Ngongotaha
Rotorua, New Zealand
64 7 357 1050

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Te Puia Maori Cultural Centre

Attraction | "Maori Culture Amid Fantastic Geothermal Activity"

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Part Maori cultural center and part geothermal spectacle, Te Puia is an fascinating spot to visit in Rotorua. We visited on our own (as opposed to part of a big bus tour) and were given very good service. One of their guided walking tours had just departed a few minutes earlier and rather than make us wait on the next one, they were able to catch us up to the tour guide and made sure we didn't really miss anything the guide had gone over, such as how to pronounce "Te Whakarewarewa" (the name of the valley). The guide first showed us around the Maori cultural park, including the traditional carving school and weaving school which have been established to keep these traditional Maori art...Read More

Part Maori cultural center and part geothermal spectacle, Te Puia is an fascinating spot to visit in Rotorua. We visited on our own (as opposed to part of a big bus tour) and were given very good service. One of their guided walking tours had just departed a few minutes earlier and rather than make us wait on the next one, they were able to catch us up to the tour guide and made sure we didn't really miss anything the guide had gone over, such as how to pronounce "Te Whakarewarewa" (the name of the valley).

The guide first showed us around the Maori cultural park, including the traditional carving school and weaving school which have been established to keep these traditional Maori arts alive. Unfortunately, there was no one at the carving school when we were there, and there was only minimal activity at the weaving school, both of which we attributed to the hazards of visiting in the off season.

Te Puia is also a great place to see New Zealand's iconic kiwi bird. They operate a rehabilitation center and breeding program for the endangered kiwi birds and have birds on display. Kiwis are nocturnal, so the display birds are housed in a special daylight-inverted house so that us tourists who visit in the daytime can seem them while they are active.

After showing us the kiwis, our guide took us over to the Pohutu Geyser, showed us the excellent hot rock benches nearby, explained a few geyser facts and left us to explore the geothermal valley on our own. Pohutu, the largest active geyser in the southern hemisphere, is one of the center pieces of Te Puia. It reliably erupts many times
per day, shooting up to 100 feet in the air and it didn't disappoint us. Pohutu Geyser is just the most prominent feature of Te Whakarewarewa geothermal valley within Te Puia. Walking trails lead you past many other steaming sulphurous pools, bubbling mud pots, and colorful mineral-crusted puddles.

The final highlight of Te Puia is the historical village, with several buildings featuring displays of New Zealand history and Maori legends. At the large Mare (meeting place) building there is a show which includes a traditional welcome, Maori songs and dances, and the haka (war challenge). I Was lucky enough to be chosen as the representative of our audience and receive the traditional nose-to-nose greeting. But during the show, any members of the audience are invited up on stage with the performers to emulate the dancers moves as best as you can, and this was a lot of fun also.

We thoroughly enjoyed our glimpse of Maori culture at Te Puia and the walk around the geothermal features was fantastic, and shouldn't be missed, even on a cool, drizzly day like we had.

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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 1, 2025

Te Puia Maori Cultural Centre
Hemo Road
Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand
64 7 348 9047

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Tandoori Palace

Restaurant | "Delicious Indian Cuisine in Rotorua"

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The Curry Specials of the Tandoori Palace broke the stalemate of our indecision over where to eat dinner. The special pricing covered most of the menu and the "curry" category included a wide spectrum of flavors and spice levels. Their menu has something for everyone, from the sweeter kormas for our daughter who'd never had much Indian food,to the spicier dishes that I like. Everything we ordered was delicious, and nicely prepared and presented. They also make good naan (flatbread) in a few varieties, great crispy samosas as appetizers and serve a nice mango lassi (fruit and yogurt smoothie).The Tandoori Palace is along the main restaurant row in downtown Rotorua. It has a very...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 2, 2025

Tandoori Palace
1152 Tutanekai Street
Rotorua, North Island 3201
07 348 8122

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Silver Oaks Resort Heritage

Hotel | "Nice low cost hotel/motel for exploring Rotorua"

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We checked in to the Silver Oaks Resort Heritage with a bit of a skeptical attitude since we'd originally made our reservation at their sister property (the Gwendoline) down the street but we were switched to this property. This redirection seems to be a common occurrence with this hotel company. However, our worst suspicions about this motel turned out to be unfounded.We had a standard room at the Silver Oaks Heritage and I have to admit it was a nice clean room for a fair price. But I would call it a basic motel room in a pretty standard motel. There isn't much about the place to call it a "resort" and it isn't as glamorous astheir website makes it look. There was certainly ...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on February 2, 2025

Silver Oaks Resort Heritage

Rotorua, New Zealand

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IgoUgo

Rotorua Journals

Rotorua -- Center of Geothermal Fun

Kuirau Park

Agrodome - Zorb Rotorua (Zorbing)

Te Puia Maori Cultural Centre

Tandoori Palace

Silver Oaks Resort Heritage

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